April 2015

14.
Title: [The Hobbit]
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Teaching
Date Completed: April 2, 2015
Rating: *****

Each spring I teach a unit on heroes and heroism, comparing the legends of The Hobbit and
Beowulf. Though most students know the latter more than the former, and are surprised with the juvenile nature of the former (given the film franchise), the unit as a whole always goes over very well.
15.
Title: [Beowulf]
Author: trans. Seamus Heaney
Genre: Poetry
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Teaching
Date Completed: April 12, 2015
Rating: *****

In "Monsters and Critics," Professor Tolkien shares an allegory of a tower: he describes a man building a tower from old building materials from an ancient structure.  Others come and knock the tower down to look for clues related to the original structure, and all wonder why the man would build "a nonsensical tower ... But, from the top of the tower, the man had been able to look out upon the sea" (not a direct quote, but close wording).  I read excerpts from Tolkien's famous lecture as we moved into Beowulf, and used this to frame our initial responses to the poem - as a tower that allows us to see the sea, or as an art artifact worth reading for the sake of itself. We also compare the most recent film version, and consider the role of film as the new orators sharing "great" myths.

16.
Title: [The Island of Doctor Moreau]
Author: H.G. Wells
Genre: Scientific Romance
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Teaching
Date Completed: April 19, 2015
Rating: *****

My edition of Moreau includes a wonderful introduction by Margaret Atwood, called "Ten Ways of Looking at The Island of Doctor Moreau," to which I add an eleventh - that of narrative gaps.  Atwood's "Ten Ways" presents a great starting point to help unfamiliar readers approach a genre, and lead to informed responses, since students can rely on Atwood's descriptions.  This time I used a different discussion topic, and considered Moreau's monstrous/villainous traits for the Victorian audience, as compared to the traits, actions, and ideas that would be identified by contemporary audiences.  It was a productive conversation, and students determined that Moreau is actually more monstrous today than he may even have been in the nineteenth-century.

17.
Title: Copyright
Author: Dozens
Genre: Mostly nonfiction; academic
Medium: PDFs
Acquisition: Required Course Reading
Date Completed: April 2015
Rating:

I'm adding this as a book, because it consumed most of my semester.  I didn't manage to finish all of the reading, and I still managed to read well over 120 pages a week for this single course.  This felt like a great deal, given the extensive reading and writing for my other course, and all of my grading, although I know there are plenty (probably in my program!) who would laugh at me for saying so.

18.
Title: Student Essays
Author: Dozens
Genre: Academic
Medium: PDFs
Acquisition: Due dates!
Date completed: May 7, 2015
Page Read: 1005+

19.
Title: [Master of O]
Author: Ernest Greene
Genre: BDSM
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: April 2015
Rating: ***

According to the forward of his 764-page erotica novel, Ernest Greene situates Master of O as an answer to his disappointment with Pauline Reage's Story of O (which I have not read nor heard of). I came across Greene's work as a recommendation for a "real" Fifty Shades of Grey (which I've also never read), and given the hype of the latter thought I would see what constitutes such reality.  Several points of the book made me uncomfortable, which was an interesting experience for me, and not something to be discounted - I like to push myself out of my reading comfort zone now and again, and Greene's novel offered me such an opportunity.  I can't say I liked it from an entertainment perspective, but I finished it, and it has a lot to offer in terms of genre and audience expectations and the place of subcultures in popular culture.

One great critique is the ridiculous socio-economic divide demonstrated: the unbelievable wealth of the characters.  Of course, it's fantasy, but as said in a quote I can't attribute, "if this had taken place in a trailer park, it'd be an episode of CSI." Which is an interesting debate to consider itself.